You have probably heard about the health benefits of juicing and detox juices/smoothies. The truth is having these often can significantly improve your health, your immunity and even help you reduce unwanted weight and belly fat.
However, many people think that it is hard to make these drinks and you are better off getting them from juice bars, health experts and other people who make these drinks. While it is perfectly fine to buy these drinks, it is good to know how to make these yourselves.
There are two ways to make these health drinks.
There is juicing, and there is blending. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are actually different. In both cases of juicing and blending, fruits or vegetables are converted into a liquid form (juice) to be drunk rather than eaten whole. However, juicing refers to the process of extracting the juice out of the fruits or vegetables and leaving behind the pulp. A juicing machine separates the juice from the pul which is not consumed. Blending, on the other hand, refers to the process of using an appliance that converts the whole food (by pulverizing, grinding and crushing) into a smoothie-like drink that contains both the juice and the pulp. So, blending retains the pulp and juicing removes the pulp.
Which of these two is better?
This really depends on your objective. In both cases, you will be consuming juice from foods that are nutrition powerhouses and will, therefore, give you an abundance of beneficial vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients. In both cases, you are consuming a more substantial amount of produce than you would if you tried to eat them whole. And you will also benefit from eating them uncooked, which is the best way to get all the beneficial nutrients they contain.
However, the key difference lies in the fact that when juicing, you remove the pulp. It is essential, therefore, keep the following in mind.
The pulp is the part that is high in fibre. Fibre helps to regulate blood sugar entry. Juices with pulp will have a better effect on blood sugar than juices without pulp. In fact, some juices made by juicing may not be suitable for people with blood sugar control problems like diabetes, especially if the juice was made with energy-dense foods like fruit.
The pulp helps to keep people satisfied because it is bulky and high in fibre. Juice made by juicing doesn’t help with satiety, and often people get hungry much more frequently than when they make the juice by blending.
The pulp helps with bowel movements. The juice from blending is better if you want your bowels to move better and helps to avoid constipation. When you are on a detox, you want your bowels to move often to be able to expel the toxins being removed by the liver.
Juices made from juicing require much more produce (fruit and vegetables) because a lot of the pulp is left out. This makes it more expensive because you need considerably more ingredients to make the juice.
Juicers are much harder to use and even clean. Many people find that this puts them off, and soon these juicers end up being expensive unused devices in our kitchen cabinets.
While some people find it easier to drink the pulp-free juice made from juicers, the loss of the pulp and fibre has significant drawbacks that you need to be aware of. That said, I recommend that as much as possible, you should blend rather than juice. However, for some people, the pulp in the juice (after blending) often makes it hard to drink. Sometimes the juice is too thick and requires some chewing. Many people don’t like this.
But there is a way around this. You can use powerful blenders, also known as nutrient extractors that allow you to blend the whole food at high speed and power that eventually produces a smoothie that is very easy to drink. Such high-power blenders produce very nice drinks (still thicker than what the juicer makes) but now very smooth, easy-drinking and with all the pulp and fibre.
This means all the benefits to your weight, digestion, satiety, blood sugar and even health are all retained. The high-power blender I recommend is called a nutribullet. The Nutribullet is a “super blender” that is superior to both a juicer and the regular blenders. It gives you the best of both worlds. When you own one of these, you no longer have to worry if you and your family are getting enough fruit and vegetables because you will love these drinks and will be able to supplement what you eat with what you drink. And it is one of the most comfortable devices to use.
I recommend that every home should have one of these devices. This is one device that I am very happy to promote. It has transformed so many people’s lives and can do the same for you. It will help you to regularly detoxify your body, reduce your belly, lose weight, prevent and manage chronic diseases like hypertension and even diabetes.
If you would like one, please get in touch with our clinic, and we can help you get one. Buying a Nutribullet or any other high power blender should be considered as an investment to your health. Call our office on +256 701 450450 or +256 775 829938 or Click here if you would like to inquire.
But one last thing, the composition of the juice is important. While any combination of fruits or vegetables can work, there are a few things to always keep in mind to make a healthy smoothie or drink
The ration of vegetables to fruit in any smoothie should be ideally 4:1 or 3:1. That means at least 75% of the contents must be vegetables. Please ensure that it is mostly made of the non-starchy vegetables (like cabbage, spinach, Broccoli etc.) and with less fruit. It is ok to have some fruit, especially the lower sugar fruits, to enhance the taste.
To have a variety of healthful compounds in the juice consider the following ingredients
1 cup of green leafy vegetables, e.g. spinach, Sukuma wiki, cabbage or lettuce
1 cup of other green vegetables like Broccoli, cucumber
1 – 2 cups of other colourful vegetables like carrot, beetroot, tomatoes
1 cup of fruit, e.g. apples, pineapples, mangoes, grapes, bananas etc.
If you have blood sugar problems use lower sugar fruits
You can also use frozen bananas for a smooth, cool feel to the smoothie
Other ingredients like
1 – 2 tablespoons of seeds like chia seeds,
1-2 tablespoons of nuts
1 teaspoon of matcha tea
Some water
Remember to be creative, do what suits you and your body. You don’t always need to have all these in at once. But these are guidelines to use. One of my favourite combinations is Broccoli, carrots, beetroot, cucumber, chia seeds and some pineapple for flavor. Be creative. Remember, you can always get in touch with our team of nutritionists to using the numbers above to get some additional ideas on recipes or if you would like us to make and deliver some of our very healthy detox smoothies.